“ Harmachis, hast thou never loved?” “Nay, nay, O Queen! What have I to do with love? Let me hence!—I am faint—I am fordone!” “Never to have loved—‘tis strange! Never to have known some woman-heart beat all in tune to thine—never to have seen the eyes of thy adored aswim with passion’s tears, as she sighed her vows upon thy breast!—Never to have loved!—never to have lost thyself in the mystery of another’s soul; nor to have learned how Nature can overcome our naked loneliness, and with the golden web of love of twain weave one identity! Why, it is never to have lived, Harmachis!” ”
H. Rider Haggard
Summary
H. Rider Haggard’s Cleopatra reimagines the legendary Egyptian queen through a dramatic lens, focusing on her complex relationship with Harmachis, a loyal yet conflicted figure, and her entanglements with Antony and Cæsar. Set against the backdrop of Egypt’s political upheaval, the narrative explores themes of love, revenge, and power, with motifs of the tomb, throne, and betrayal threading through its emotional and historical fabric.
Cleopatra’s defiant assertion of her identity as both a mortal and a natural force underscores the work’s meditation on legacy and sacrifice, while the interplay of personal and political conflict culminates in a tragic synthesis of ambition and vulnerability.
Quotes from Cleopatra (H. Rider Haggard)
“ All rosy grew her lovely countenance; her dim eyes shone out like stars; and a smile of wonderment, more sweet than the sudden smile of the sea as its ripples wake to brightness beneath the kiss of the risen moon, broke through her rain of tears. “Thou livest!” she cried, throwing herself on her knees beside my couch. “Thou livest—and I thought thee gone! Thou art come back to me! Oh! what say I? How foolish is a woman’s heart! ‘Tis this long watching! Nay; sleep and rest thee, Harmachis!—why dost thou talk? Not one more word, I command thee straitly! ”
H. Rider Haggard,
Cleopatra
(1889)
“ Why, it is not manly; 'tis most womanish! All men must die, and death were welcome were it not so lone. Should I fall, I leave my children to your tender care—if, perchance, it may avail to save them from the fate of helplessness. Soldiers, enough! to-morrow at the dawn we spring on Cæsar's throat, both by land and sea. Swear that ye will cling to me, even to the last issue!""We swear!" they cried. "Noble Antony, we swear!""It is well! Once more my star grows bright; to-morrow, set in the highest heaven, it yet may shine the lamp of Cæsar down! ”
